


Drift

by Cardinnal



Category: MapleStory, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Fluff, M/M, knights of cygnus, since it could sorta read as symptoms of PTSD, there's a brief bit at the beginning with a drift-induced false memory so just a heads-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 00:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cardinnal/pseuds/Cardinnal
Summary: Nothing escapes the Drift.





	Drift

“I don't know why I didn't see it sooner.”

Hawkeye says it like a statement but there’s enough surprise and eagerness in the lilt of his voice that it almost sounds like a question.

Eckhart's mind is still reeling from their simulation ( _a_ _beautiful harbour terrorized by a monstrous crab-like Kaiju big enough to blot out the sun, families scattering like marbles on the floor, a homely bakery suddenly gone cold and the fleeting barely-there afterimage of a sobbing child being scooped up by his father and running, dropping the tray of freshly-baked focaccia that his father just taught him how to make with a resounding _clang_ like the toll of a church bell-_ ) and he surprises himself when he already knows what Hawkeye is going to say. He really hoped Hawkeye wouldn't bring it up after they drifted, but in the back of his mind he knew it was inevitable.

“Eckhart, dude, look at me.”

Eckhart ignores him and busies himself with taking his gear off as fast as he can. The flight pit of the Jaeger suddenly feels much, much too small. Like some kind of weird echo, he can hear the hiss of Hawkeye unfastening his helmet at the exact same time Eckhart undoes his own.

He can already feel Hawkeye looking at him. Their first Drift was precarious at best, but nonetheless their tentative neural handshake must've let some things slip while they were running the simulation, and even though his gut tells him that Hawkeye feels the same, at the forefront of his mind he’s sure that Hawkeye will never want to speak to him again-

“You think I'm _hot_?”

Eckhart winces. Thinking it was embarrassing; hearing it said out loud is _mortifying_. Hawkeye bursts into peals of laughter that echo in the flight pit and Eckhart is sure that in any other circumstance it would've been pleasant. He opens his eyes (when did he close them?) and slowly, slowly turns his head to look at Hawkeye and immediately their eyes meet, snapping onto the other like magnets. His expression is one of disbelief, but he's smiling.

Well, it's more a grin.

It looks really good on him.

Without meaning to, Eckhart stares. Hawkeye stares back and, after a moment, he raises a hand to stifle another laugh. “You think I'm hot,” he repeats giddily, the uncontainable, muffled glee in his voice spilling out from behind his fingers. “Oh my God.”

Eckhart remembers where he is and his face and neck and ears are suddenly _burning_. With ungodly effort he tears his eyes away from Hawkeye's and glares at his equipment instead. He's so embarrassed he could probably die on the spot and he can't get out of the simulation flight pit fast enough because his spinal clamp is still unknitting itself from his back at an infuriatingly leisurely pace.

Still, there's a part of him at the back of his mind that can't help feeling inexplicably pleased that Hawkeye's happy.

“I heard you the first time,” he manages to grumble.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking about a Pacific Rim AU for years but I haven't been able to work up the momentum to write a full story so here's a little snippet. I feel like Hawkeye would be drift compatible with literally any of the chief knights so this was definitely an excuse to feel out the Eckhart/Hawkeye waters, haha.
> 
> I like to think that huge simulation fields exist for pilots to test out their drift before actually going into the field. Kind of like airplane pilots getting simulation training in those little 4D cockpits.
> 
> And as a bit of fun trivia, the simulation Kaiju making landfall reminded Hawkeye of his childhood, hence Eckhart specifically remembering an afterimage of a child (Hawkeye) and his father running after drifting.
> 
> Come say hi on [Tumblr!](http://cardinnal.tumblr.com)


End file.
